Knox Cathedral – Part 01
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translator: Kell
There is one way to never be betrayed: never trust anyone.
Never think that this person will never betray me, that they will believe you. Never assume that you have a bond with someone, or that they love you.
Always assume that they’re going to betray you, so when they do, you can act like you knew all along, and move on.
If you know that there’s something behind their kind words, you can laugh and say, “What a bad liar,” when you see it.
If you don’t make someone important, you don’t have to cry out over the pain of losing them.
Eternal loneliness? Pitiful self-defense?
You can call it whatever you want.
I’m sure even those who talk big will one day realize that the only person you can trust is yourself.
It’s much better to be alone than to trust someone and be betrayed and bear a wound that will never heal.
It’s how I lived all my life.
So why did I ever trust that woman?
A stirring in my arms woke me up. I opened my eyes to see a woman with stunning features staring at me.
“What—”
“I had a dream that you died,” Zero said, putting her arms around my neck. She then hugged it tight, choking me a little.
“Are you trying to kill me?!”
“Good.”
“Hmm?”
“Your head is still attached to your body.”
She sounded strangely solemn. It made me wonder if my neck was still actually attached to my body.
“Of course it is,” I said. “The only one who would try to cut my head off while I’m asleep is that homicidal priest from Dea Ignis.”
And fortunately, the homicidal priest should be in Lutra Cathedral, located in the south, the complete opposite direction of where we were headed, Knox Cathedral.
“Amateur witches and bandits too,” Zero added.
“Amateur witches and bandits north of Wenias where it’s crawling with demons? I guess they could be worse than the priest.”
“I do not want you to die.”
“I don’t want to die either.”
“But you came with me despite the danger.”
Twitching my whiskers, I pushed Zero away. “It sounds like you didn’t want me to come with you.”
“Does it?”
“Sure does.”
“Perhaps. At least you would have been safe in Wenias.”
“What, did I die so tragically in your dreams?”
I meant it as a joke, but Zero nodded gravely. She looked so serious that in her dream I must have suffered a death so tragic that it beggared belief. I decided not to ask for the details, or I might end up dreaming about it too.
“Doesn’t matter how I die in your dreams,” I said. “You’re here in the real world.”
“Me?”
“You’ll protect me, won’t you?”
Zero blinked a few times, then smiled, regaining her usual self a little. “Whenever I say that, you always reply with ‘I’m your bodyguard, not the other way around’.”
“People have two faces.”
“You are such a smooth-talker.” She chuckled, then curled up in my arms once again.
We continued our march north toward Knox Cathedral.
The power of the demon Thousand-Eyed Sentinel that we defeated at the Forbidden Library allowed us to keep a watchful eye on the road ahead. Zero came up with countermeasures. Leyland prioritized practicality, Gemma advocated for unrealistic ideas, while Barcel came up with plans that took the middle ground. Our journey went so smooth that we almost forgot how awful the start was.
I had things to do as well, of course. Like making food. I fought whenever we were attacked, and did some physical labor, but I never did anything fancy. I was just a mercenary, after all.
The further we traveled north, the colder it got. It always snowed at night now.
The occassional blizzard made it seem like we had an arduous trip ahead of us, but the extraordinary witch in our company made things easier. She could melt the snow blocking the road, even turning it into safe drinking water. We welcomed the snow because of that.
“I wonder if I could learn Magic,” Gemma, Captain of the Knight Templars’ Northern Expeditionary Force, muttered with a straight face.
She was a genuine knight and a true believer of the Church. Zero did such great work that Gemma, who had lived her entire life hating witches, was not ashamed to say what she said.
Naturally, her subordinates began entertaining the same thoughts as well. If they could light a fire without a flint, if they could shoot arrows even when they ran out of ammunition—if they had even a tiny bit of gift for Magic, the journey would become a lot easier.
Some of the soldiers asked Zero to teach them Magic. The Captain did not rebuke them, and even Vice Captain Leyland, who initially harbored an unfavorable opinion on witches, gave his tacit approval.
Zero teaching the knights Magic distracted them from the harsh trip. It was all very strange, but it was true. Knowing more about Magic would make the Knights Templar’s work in the future easier. That’s what they believed at least. But with half of the world in pieces because of a Murky Darkness Witch’s plot to destroy and rebuild the world, there was really no point in thinking about their future activities at the moment.
At the very least, those participating in the mission, even the common soldier, understood that this was no time to view witches and Magic like they were the plague. They knew that they had a bigger threat to vanquish, even if it meant using those they despised.
As usual, most of the villages and towns we passed through were completely destroyed, but we found survivors in a few churches.
It was an undeniable fact that the Church’s facilities were powerful wards against demons. Even I felt somewhat relieved whenever we came across a church.
When I provided a warm meal to a bunch of cold and starving kids shivering in the corner of a church, I felt like I had become a little more decent person.
Of course if I showed myself, those who were attacked by demons would scream in terror, so I had to hide myself.
So we marched on for sixty days with noncombatants.
After passing through a forest of dead conifers, I spotted a striking red-brick town, unscathed by the surrounding devastation.
“Incredible,” Zero said, breathing a sigh of amazement. “I can almost see the warding.”
I too could see a clear line that separated the inside and outside of the warding. The farm sheds, watchtower, and windmills on the outside of the barrier had all collapsed, but inside, livestock roamed freely on the pastures. I could even see several windmills turning serenely in town.
“So this is the town that was built around Knox Cathedral,” Gemma said. “It’s my first time coming here.” She was trembling with emotion, tears in her eyes.
“But you’re a knight,” I said.
She gave an awkward smile. “The Knights Templar basically never leave their assigned areas. Security and subjugation is done in the jurisdiction of the unit we’re assigned to.”
“The Captain is right,” Leyland added. “Those who join the Knights Templar at a young age will usually spend their days without getting the chance to go on pilgrimage. Many of them embark on a pilgrimage when they are old and retired from duty.”
“So when are you retiring?” I asked. I didn’t mean for my thoughts to spill out.
“When I die,” he declared firmly.
What an absolutely terrifying old man.
“So is this your first time in Knox Cathedral as well, Vice Captain?” Barcel, Gemma’s attendant, asked, lifting his sun hat.
“I have already traveled to all the Cathedrals. I went on many missions to faraway places, you see. That’s probably one of the reasons why Commander Eudwright appointed me as Vice Captain of the troops. I’m also acquainted with the current Bishop of Knox Cathedral.”
“Haha. I get it,” Barcel said. “That’s why you wanted to get rid of the Captain.”
Leyland shot him a glare.
“Sorry,” the attdendant quickly added, covering his mouth. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Let’s go. The soldiers are excited to see a beautiful town. It’s been a while since we’re able to sleep peacefully without fear of an attack.”
“What about the Director?” I asked Gemma as she turned on her heel.
And by Director, I meant the demon we were bringing with us. Its real name was Thousand-Eyed Sentinel, but it once called itself the Director of the Forbidden Library, so we just kept calling it that.
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)